Him

Masking The Pain

Telling the girls what happened was pretty weird. Mainly because part of it is about me. I mean it had to be me they were talking about. I'm the only Katie in my church.

Maybe the two arguing people were just visitors or something. Although, the girl did sound very familiar. More investigating will have to be done later. I'm a pretty curious person, so this really grasps my attention.

Right now I'm lying on my bed. Hazel, Fi and Em are all here also. My bed isn't too small, which is good because my friends and I can all fit comfortably. I guess a bigger bed would be better. Or I could get less friends.

No. Definitely not the second thing.

"Ouch. Em, you just kicked me," Fi whines.

This is typical Fi. She's always grouchy on Sunday afternoons. I don't understand her reasoning. Mondays I completely understand. Sunday is just an odd day to be grouchy. I don't know. Maybe it's just me.

"So. Katie. What are you going to do about those mystery people?" Hazel asks.

"I don't know. Try and forget them most likely."

Honestly, what's the point in searching for them? Well the guy anyway! I might figure out who the girl is sometime.

"You know what you should do?" Em starts, gathering all of our attention. "You should do some detective work. Like check church cameras and stuff."

"That's a great idea Em! Oh, but the church doesn't have camera's," I inform her.

"Well there goes that idea," Fi says sitting up.

We all just sit there, trying to come up with another idea. They are making a bigger deal out of it than I am. I'm glad they care enough about me. I have amazing friends.

I heard from my mom earlier. My papaw is doing okay. Not better or worse. So that's good, right? I think it is. Eli and I are supposed to video chat with our parent’s tomorrow night. That should be fun.

It's really cozy on my bed. The girls fell asleep. Just me awake in here. I'm kind of hungry. Maybe I'll go downstairs and eat. Maya and Eli probably finished their movie by now. So I won't be bothering them.

Carefully I get off my bed and head for the door.

I haven't heard from Owen. It's no big deal, but it'd be nice. We had so much fun together last night. Actually, now that I think about it, I bet he is with another girl every time he has a party. If I go to another party, which I most likely will, he'll probably ignore me.

Guys like Owen don't stay with girls for very long. If I'm not mistaking, I think Owen's longest girlfriend was three months. Which seems pretty good. It would have been longer if he hadn't been with Ginger Adams during the last week of their relationship. So yeah, Owen equals bad news.

I reach the kitchen finally. Pushing the thoughts of Owen aside, I look for food. Eli and I have been pretty much been living on pizza rolls and chicken nuggets. Occasionally I cooked a special meal.

"Katie. What time is it?" I hear Maya ask.

She was sitting up on the couch, looking at me sleepily. She and Eli must have taken a nap after their movie. Or fell asleep during it, since the credits are just now finishing.

"Um, 4:45."

"What! Eli get up! We are going to be late for Bible study!" Maya says jumping up from the couch.

This is another Sunday tradition. Eli and Maya wake up in a panic, but always make it in time for the study. Mainly because her dad will wait a bit if they are running late. Did I forget to mention that Maya's the pastor's daughter? Well she is. So really she never has anything to worry about.

Popcorn sounds good.

Random? Yeah, I know. But I'm hungry. Plus popcorn is delicious. With all its buttery goodness. You seriously can't go wrong with it. I'll make enough for all the girls. I'm sure they will wake up when I get back on the bed.

Beep beep.

The popcorn is done. The aroma escapes as soon as I pull open the microwave door.

Yum! I can't wait to eat this.

I walk up the stairs, back to my room.

"Popcorn!" The twins squeal in excitement.

Yep. Popcorn really wakes a person.

------------------------------------------

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" I say as soon as they are visible on the screen.

"Hi Katie..." My dad says looking down.

Clearly something is wrong. He always looks at me when we are talking.

"What's going on?"

"Katie. Eli. There's something we need to tell you."

Okay, now I'm seriously worried. What could've happened? Oh, no. Is it Papaw? It must be.

"Your grandpa. He... died this morning."

"What! No! You said he was doing okay!" I yell.

"He was, but...” My dad starts to say.

At this point I get up and leave. There is no way I can stay in there. He died? Why did he have to die? You know what, forget it. I don't want to think about this right now.

Maybe I'll call Owen. Maybe he is throwing a party tonight. I really don't want to sit here and be sad all night. I need a distraction. At least for a little while.

I go back and apologize to my parents for yelling at them. They aren’t mad because they understand why I yelled. After saying bye to them, I text Owen.

K- Hey, party tonight?

I sit on my bed as soon as I hear the message send. Seconds later I get a response.

O- Course! You better be there! (;

K- Oh, I'm planning on it!

I hop in the shower to wash my hair. Since the girls aren't here, I'll have to choose my outfit for myself. I wonder if I should wear something bold tonight.

Well, maybe I shouldn't.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I need to just dress about the same as I did last time I went to a party. Which was two nights ago, but whatever.

Hopping out of the shower I turn my iPod playlist on shuffle. My playlist mostly consisted of my favorite band, Paramore! Seriously, this is the greatest band ever. I could listen to them all day.

Renegade came on.

This is my absolute favorite song from Paramore.

'I'm a renegade it's in my blood...’

Okay, nobody wants to hear me sing. Ha. I get my blow-dryer out and start to blow dry my hair.

I think tonight I'll go with a natural hair look. My hair is naturally wavy so I will just leave my waves. They usually look good, so hopefully they will tonight.

After I finish blow drying my hair, I start to work on my makeup. My makeup will look a little more dramatic tonight. But not too dramatic, I don't want people to think I have a black eye.

You know, I still haven't decided on what I'm going to wear tonight. Maybe a skirt, but I'm not so sure yet.

I finally finish my makeup and stand in front of my closet for a few minutes, deciding on what to wear. I finally decide I'm going to wear a black skirt, blue crop top, and black high-heeled boots.

It's a pretty edgy look for me, but I think I really like it. Plus, tonight is supposed to be a distraction. So whatever I wear doesn't matter, but I still want to look good.

I am all ready to go but I sit on my bed. I decide to wait a little bit longer. I don’t want to show up at the party too early. Plus, it is only 10:30.

I will probably leave at 11:00. I think that is a pretty good time. I really hope that Owen won't ignore me. But, by the sound of his text, it seemed like he wanted to see me.

Yeah I know, you can't hear a text. But oh well.

Suddenly, there is a faint knock on my door.

It has to be Eli. Because obviously there's nobody else home.

"Come in," I say to my unopened door.

"Hey, Katie. We heard. Eli texted us. How are you doing?" Emma asks as she slowly enters. Hazel and Fiona are closely behind her.

Wow, it was just like him to go ahead and text them before me.

"Oh Katie. You must be so sad. But don't worry, we are here to be with you," Fi says as she sits on my bed next to me.

"Were we interrupting you leaving? You look like you just got ready to go somewhere," Hazel asks looking me up and down.

"Oh, I'm just going to Owen's party," I say picking up my phone. "You're welcome to come with me. I will drive and everything."

I don’t have to turn around. I know what faces they are making behind me. They probably think that I am crazy for going out at a time like this. But really, I don't want to have to sit here and think about it. I'd rather go do something.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Emma asks.

"Of course. I wouldn't be headed that way if I wasn't."

I am facing them now. So when they all give each other a look I know what they are thinking. But it doesn’t matter because I am still going, with or without them.

"Okay then Katie. Can you give us a few minutes to get ready?" Hazel asks.

"Okay, yeah, sure! I'm glad you guys want to come with me. You are really good friends."

"Oh, we know that!" The twins tease as they head into my bathroom to get my makeup.

I'm actually really glad they decided to come. I was for sure they were going to try and talk me out of it. Which would not have worked, because no matter what they say, I would have gone. I really want to because I don't want to have to stay here right now. It isn't something I want to have to deal with.

Anyway, this same thing will be here tomorrow. I can worry about it then. Which reminds me, I think my parents are coming home tomorrow. Either that or tonight. Which I hope it's not tonight. They would be mad if they knew I was going to a party.

It is 11:05 now. The girls are just now finishing getting ready. Which means we will be leaving, most likely, at 11:15. That's a little later than I wanted, but its okay. If it means the girls are coming with me, then I am fine with it.

"Okay we are ready!" The girls say in unison as they walk towards me.

"Great! Let's get going," I say as I grab my phone and rush out the door.

I slow down when I reach the stairs. I don't want to trip and fall in my high heels. I notice a light on in the kitchen, which means Eli is in there.

Great. I just can't wait to hear what he has to say about this. I can almost hear it now. 'How can you be leaving at a time like this? You're so insensitive.'

"Katie?" I hear my brother say as I take the last step off the stairs.

"Yeah?"

I look over at him. His eyes are kind of red. I know he had been crying.

"Oh, are you going out with Hazel, Fiona, and Emma?"

I don't want him to know I'm going to a party. So I'll just make up a story. That should work, he normally believes anything I say.

"Oh yeah. They want to take me out, you know since..." I trail off not wanting to make him or myself upset.

It was a good lie. I'm sure that it will work.

"That sounds like a great idea. Have fun, and make sure to get home at a reasonable time," Eli says turning away from me and walking up the stairs to his room.

I sigh as I reach to grab my keys. Hazel stops me.

"I want to drive. I think it would be better."

I nod in agreement. It probably would be best for her to drive. She is the best driver out of all of us, and who knows, I might drink a little bit tonight.

On second thought maybe I shouldn't. Because if my parents are coming home tomorrow morning I don't want to be lying in bed with a hangover. That wouldn't make a good welcome home gift for them.

We all leave and get into Hazel's car.

I have a feeling tonight won't be like last time. Hopefully Owen and I will get to hang out tonight also.

We arrive just as quickly as we had last time. Once again the house is completely packed. Music spilling out of the windows, and cars parked in all directions.

I open my door quickly. I want to get into the house as fast as possible. Yes, I just want to find Owen. I really would like to see him.

Looking around the crowded house, I do not see him. But of course, how could I find him right away. There are too many people just like I knew there would be.

"Well well, look who we have here. Little Katie Holt," I hear a female voice snicker behind me.

I do not have to turn around to know who it is. Paige Jenkins. The queen bee of the so-called popular girls. I know when I turn around I will see Marisol and Ginger behind her. My friends and I call them the wannabes.

"Yeah, why is she here?" Ginger says eyeing me.

"What do you guys want?" I demand.

Paige laughs. I really hate when she does that. She thinks that she wins whenever I say something to her, but she is wrong. Tonight I do not want to be messed with by her or her little followers.

"Obviously she wants to know why you are here," Marisol says.

"Oh I'm sorry, can your queen bee not speak for herself?" I say irritated.

"Marisol is right. What are you doing here?" Paige finally asks.

Now I'm getting mad. She is so annoying, I just don't even know what to do.

"I invited her," A familiar voice calls out.

Oh, I guess I found Owen. Wow, sounds like he is defending me. Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought he was. Or he is, he could just be trying... You know what? Never mind.

The mean girls look shocked. Almost like they are trying to comprehend what is happening. They each take turns glaring at me as they turn and walk away.

Hmm. Even the mean girls are afraid of Owen. Well it makes sense. I would be if I was them at this moment. Owen is known for having a temper. It's better now than it used to be. I wonder if I should thank Owen for standing up for me.

I have a better idea.

Quickly turning around I place my arms around Owen's neck. I place my lips softly against his and kiss him.

Just like I thought, he doesn’t try and push me away. Instead, he places his arms around my waist.

I knew this party would be better than the last one. It already is. I wonder what else I'll do.

Finally I pull away from him. He just stares at me, as if he was trying to decide what to say.

"What was that for?" Owen asks.

"Helping me."

He smiles at me and pulls me with him. Getting drinks we make our way to empty chairs. I start to sit down but am pulled up. Owen sits down and puts me in his lap.

I turn and face him. He pulls my face close to his and kisses me softly.

A few drinks later everything became very cloudy. I was being led somewhere by someone.

And then, nothing!

Everything was dark.